


Getting Butterflies

by Yamino_Yama



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Eskimo Kisses, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Romance, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 06:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17699690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yamino_Yama/pseuds/Yamino_Yama
Summary: It's Valentine's Day, but Tamaki has a job without Sogo and will be gone for most of the day. Sogo wallows in loneliness until Iori helps pull him out of it.





	Getting Butterflies

**Author's Note:**

> This is largely a Tamasou Valentine's fic, but it also has some TamaIo/SouIo because I'm still riding on the high of those three as a combo from my last fic ^^ There's a sprinkle of PythTrio too, since Valentine's Day is Yamato's birthday, but I plan to give him his own fic soon, featuring Re:vale! (A NSFW Tamasou fic is coming too. Comment to let me know if you think I should throw Iori in the mix in some way or another (because I'm considering ><) or if you just want to give this fic some praise :D) Kudos, as always, appreciated! Until next time~
> 
> P.S. SOME PART 3 CH.17 SPOILERS AHEAD! BE WARNED!

Sogo watched as Tamaki prepared himself to leave. “Don't forget your jacket, Tamaki-kun. You'll catch a chill.”

“Right, right,” Tamaki murmured, turning back at him and smiling. “You're worrying too much, Sou-chan. I know we don't get jobs apart often, but I can handle this much alone.”

“I know. Sorry.” Sogo's eyes found the floor as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He noticed Tamaki's King Pudding plushie had fallen and was almost completely under the bed. He wanted to pick it up, but at the same time he didn't want to overstep.

He heard Tamaki walk over to him, but was still surprised when one of Tamaki's hands closed over his and the other lifted his chin. “I don't want you upset,” Tamaki told him. “If it hurts you this much, we'll forget the job and demand we appear together or not all from now on.”

Sogo smiled. “That's all right, Tamaki-kun. You're right that you can do this alone. I know you can. I'm just going to miss you tonight.”

It was Valentine's Day after all. Yamato's birthday took precedent in the IDOLiSH7 dorm, but Sogo couldn't forget that for the first time in his life, he had someone to spend the day for lovers with.

Tamaki leaned closer. Their noses were almost touching as he whispered, “Just a few hours and I'll be back to spend every last minute of this day, and any other, with you. Okay?”

Sogo blinked at him, but he couldn't give an okay. Tamaki wouldn't want him to pretend he was okay when he wasn't, to say what he thought Tamaki wanted to hear. He hated when Sogo suppressed his desires because he loved him so much, Sogo had learned, and so he couldn't say it. Frustrated, his eyes burned with tears. Was he being a burden, even now, when doing what Tamaki would want?

Sogo's eyes were down again. Tamaki was using one bare foot to rub his other ankle. Sogo heard him click his tongue before he walked away. “Tamaki-kun,” Sogo gasped, snapping his eyes to his partner, terrified that he'd upset him as he used to be so prone to. “I—”

He faltered, just avoiding an apology because that was _another_ thing Tamaki said he'd didn't have to do. Besides, from what he could see, Tamaki wasn't angry. He dug through clothes before holding up a parka, seemingly satisfied, and coming back to Sogo.

“Hold up your arms,” Tamaki requested and Sogo, without knowing why but trusting there was a reason, obliged, stretching his arms skyward. Tamaki slipped the parka he was holding over Sogo's head and pulled his arms through. “There. Snug?”

Sogo nodded. He really was. The parka was one with a teddy bear motif and it carried Tamaki's scent while being very insulated.

“I'm lending it to you, until I come back,” Tamaki explained, scratching his head. “That way you feel like I'm still here, and that I'm holding you, kind of . . .”

Tamaki's face reddened and Sogo chuckled, going up to him and slipping his arms around Tamaki's waist. “Thank you, Tamaki-kun. I'll be okay now. Promise. Just come back soon?”

Tamaki grinned. “Of course.” He put his face close to Sogo's again and this time let their noses touch, nuzzling him with an Eskimo kiss. Sogo giggled and Tamaki laughed with him. “Love you, Sou-chan.”

“I love you too, Taa-kun.”

They laughed a bit more and then Sogo broke away, telling Tamaki that it was _really_ time to leave. His abandonment issues aside, Sogo didn't want Tamaki to be late and get chastised. Some things were much too important.

“I'll be good,” Tamaki promised as he headed out. “I'll make you proud.”

_I'm already proud_ . Sogo didn't say the words out loud, though he wished he had as Tamaki went on, leaving the room cold and empty.

At a loss for what to do with himself, Sogo picked up King Pudding and put him back on the bed. Looking at the plushie sitting there, Sogo decided to join him, first sitting on the bed and then lying down. Like the oversized parka that hugged him, the pillows and sheets smelled like Tamaki (and the chips and pudding he loved to sneak in as a midnight snack, but Sogo was even finding comfort in that).

Sogo curled in on himself, rubbing his face against the parka's sleeve, recalling when Tamaki had used the sleeve of a parka he'd been wearing to wipe away Sogo's tears. He'd been wearing a different parka at the time, but the feel of the soft fabric and the warmth of the memory brought fresh tears to Sogo's eyes. Everything had changed that night, between him and Tamaki. It's not that he hadn't acknowledged Tamaki's growth already at that point, or that he hadn't already loved him (it was impossible not to); rather, Tamaki had worked as a mirror, reflecting a version of himself that Sogo could cherish and admire and turned the world into a livable place. He could be himself, say and do what he wanted, was encouraged to, when he was with Tamaki. No one could make Sogo happier.

“Ten minutes,” he read aloud when he rolled over and studied Tamaki's clock. “That short a time?”

Groaning, he grabbed King Pudding and went into a ball again. Maybe if he slept, the wait wouldn't be so long. Someone that was often alone like him . . . when did he become so dependent on Tamaki's being beside him? He'd taken for granted that Tamaki was with him most of the time, that was it. How did people make it, away from their significant others, weeks and cities apart?

The door burst open and Sogo startled into a sit. Iori stood frowning at him and Sogo was sure he looked like a disheveled mess after wallowing around in Tamaki's bed. In Tamaki's bed!

“Um, Iori-kun, I was just—”

“You don't have to explain, Osaka-san, but are you all right? You look miserable.”

As Sogo had thought. He tried to hide a wince as he answered, “Fine. Nothing's wrong.”

“I still think you look upset,” Iori said. “Yotsuba-san _did_ go to his job, didn't he?”

“Ah, yes.” Sogo hesitated before admitting, “Actually, that's why I'm like this.

He saw understanding dawn in Iori-kun's eyes. “It won't do for you to break when Yotsuba-san isn't with you. Come with me to the kitchen.”

“Why?”

“Just do it, or do you want to remain a miserable mess for another hour or two.”

Sogo gave a bitter laugh as he got up, following Iori out. “You really don't mince your words, Iori-kun. You and Tamaki-kun are very alike in that way.”

“I have a lot of harsh words to deliver if we're to maintain order in this household, but I _do_ provide praise as well, when appropriate.”

“Yes, you can be very nurturing,” Sogo said, smiling at a memory of Iori comforting a crying Tamaki at the spill of his pudding on the carpet. “It must come from caring for Riku-kun.”

Iori made a point to keep his face out of Sogo's line of sight as he answered, “You're similar to me in that fashion, when nurturing Yotsuba-san.”

“I try,” Sogo replied. “I think you're better at it though.”

“Yotsuba-san's right,” Iori said suddenly.

“Right? About what?”

“That you need to gain confidence. You've developed under his watch but there's still a ways to go, an even greater person to grow into. You and Yotsuba-san have _that_ in common.”

Sogo didn't say anymore, couldn't, his throat felt restricted because he was so emotional, so happy. In the kitchen, Iori got out ingredients for chocolate and, with a close eye, directed Sogo on what to do to get three blends: white, milk, and dark chocolate (which, with Iori's permission, he got to add a few dashes of red chili to since it was for Sogo himself). They worked together to pour the heated mix into molds that Iori had bought with Mitsuki, the aromas of vanilla and cocoa dancing around them. While the heart and flower molds had charm, Sogo was particularly enamored with the butterfly one and looked forward to giving Tamaki a buterfly-shaped milk chocolate, hoping it would make Tamaki's heart flutter like the beautiful insects' wings. When his hands were free, Sogo pulled the collar of Tamaki's parka to cover the giddy smile he could feel on his face, figuring he had no other way of hiding it.

Into the fridge the molds went, then it was time for Sogo to play a new waiting game, but this time he felt content.

“Thank you for this, Iori-kun. I know you didn't intend to cook with me, but it was a welcome distraction from being separated from Tamaki-kun.”

“Again, please don't sell yourself short, Osaka-san,” Iori scolded him. “Remember, I knew that Yotsuba-san had a job. I walked in his room knowing full well you'd be there, having every intention to make these chocolates with you. Nii-san and Rokuya-san already made some for Nikaido-san and I informed them that you and I would handle making some for Yotsuba-san and Nanase-san. We all elected to do it with Yotsuba-san and Nananse-san out of the kitchen, and Nikaido-san asleep so he wouldn't demand the addition of beer in the ingredients.”

“Oh, you all really thought this through,” said Sogo.

“Yes, and I'm glad I got to partner with you. It isn't often that the two of us collaborate but I feel confident enough to admit that I think we make a good team.”

Sogo gaped at Iori, shocked by the praise. “Thank you,” he murmured, feeling his face heat.

Iori turned away, stammering as he said, “D-don't think too much about it. I was just stating facts.”

“Understood,” Sogo said, masking a laugh. Again, just so Iori could truly grasp how much this meant to him, Sogo offered thanks.

Losing his shyness, Iori beamed at him with the brightest of smiles. “You're welcome, Osaka-san. Anytime.”

 

END

 


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